


Girl and Boy

by Meloxique



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-04-25 10:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4956571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meloxique/pseuds/Meloxique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry and Cisco decide to carpe diem and ask their respective crushes to prom, but Iris gets a boyfriend, Cisco keeps chickening out, and then it all goes to shit. Really, the only success story is Caitlin’s.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> I say this is an AU simply because I’m putting all the characters in one high school at the same time, and, of course, Barry hasn’t got any powers.
> 
> Sorry if anything seems out of place; I’m Australian and I just decided to put my own spin on the school system.
> 
> Girl and Boy was supposed to just be a placeholder title while I thought of something better but I ended up not thinking of anything better. I hate myself.

Iris liked to think of herself as independent and innovative, a real go-getter, if you will, who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and who definitely wasn’t afraid to speak in general, but, as she stared at the blank Word document on her laptop, feeling as if _it_ was staring at _her_ instead, intimidatingly so, she found herself kind of speechless.

When in doubt, Google, she told herself, pulling up her browser and typing in ‘how to write a resume.’ She would have asked her dad but he was taking a nap and God knew he needed one. Besides, she could do this by herself; she was a big girl and this was a learning experience. 

She spent the next hour reaching into the far corners of her mind for little accomplishments and skills that she could include, and the half hour after that trying to make the document look pretty. She admitted though that somewhere in between she had got sidetracked by a Vine Barry sent her of a clumsy lion cub, which she spent a good few minutes watching on loop. Nevertheless, all that mattered was that she was done now. She printed her CV, popped it in an envelope, and filed it away for the next time she made plans to grab coffee at Jitters, giving herself a mental pat on the back for being productive.

Meanwhile, however, the same could not be said for Barry. 

Cisco had invited him over for a two-person study party, but that pretence fell through when he got too caught up marathoning _The Big Bang Theory_. Barry could only glance forlornly at his pile of neglected notebooks on the coffee table, currently being used as a coaster for their Slurpees, and wonder how late he’d have to stay up tonight to get everything done.

After popping in the next season’s DVD, Cisco fell back on the couch and announced with grave importance, “I’ve decided.”

“Decided what?”

“I’m gonna ask Melinda Tores to the prom.”

Barry’s back jumped off the sofa cushion. “Dude, seriously? Good for you, man!” he said, slapping Cisco’s arm with a smile.

“But maybe I shouldn’t.”

“No, you have to. You’ve decided!”

“What if she says no?”

“Then we’ll go stag and show her what she’s missing.”

“No way you’re going stag, man; you’ve gotta ask Iris.”

There was nothing down his throat but Barry choked anyway. “I can’t,” he coughed. 

“Why not?”

“You know why.”

Cisco sighed. He did, and he would have taken the opportunity to give his friend the don’t-be-afraid-of-rejection speech but, who was he kidding, he was in the exact same boat with Melinda. “Okay, it’s a deal,” he said, shifting forward on the couch, and Barry had to admire the resolve burning in his eyes, “we _have_ to ask them to junior prom.”

“How is this a deal? You’re just telling me what to do.”

“If we succeed,” Cisco went on, as if he hadn’t heard Barry at all, “we get to spend one magical night with our dream girls. If not, we’re going to lead sad, miserable lives, fail senior year, and end up homeless and alone.”

“I think you’re over-exaggerating but, fine, I’ll ask Iris to be my date if you ask Melinda.” Maybe he would gain some courage from watching Cisco go first.

“Deal.”

They shook on it.

*

Barry walked home in the late October breeze, thinking about Iris and prom and how fast his heart was beating even though it was eight months away and that only a few hours ago prom had been the furthest thing from his mind. Iris and Joe were in the kitchen when he walked in. They both turned around at the sound of the door closing.

“Thank god you’re here,” Iris said, ushering him over, “the oven’s not working.”

Barry gulped and tried not to look into her imploring eyes. He was a goner if he had to ask her to prom with her looking like that. 

He fixed the oven, because Joe was kind of hopeless when it came to these sorts of things, and then went upstairs to change. There was a watermark on his chemistry notebook from the Slurpee he’d left on top of it, which only grew more prominent when he turned on the lamp on his desk. It was Iris’ turn to cook and after taking a shower he could have gotten a head start on his homework but he found his feet leading him back downstairs and his voice asking if she needed any help.

“That’d be great,” she said with a grin, and he wasn’t even mad that he probably wouldn’t get much sleep tonight.


	2. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! I was supposed to post this yesterday but I totally lost track of time; it's been a busy week.
> 
> Edit: Caitlin originally said "Halloween falls on a Friday this year ..." but I changed it to Saturday just to fit in with the real 2015 calendar.

It was common knowledge that, nowadays, if you handed in your resume in person, it would most likely get thrown out. Everything was settled online and no one needed piles of paper lying around during non-hiring season, which seemed to be all the time. But Joe had insisted Iris walk up to the counter at Jitters, ask for the manager, and give them her resume with a smile to make a good first impression and so she did as she was told even though she hated herself while doing it. She could kind of tell that they weren’t looking for anyone at the moment and that, if they were, she would need to fill in an application online, but then a miracle happened: she was enjoying an impromptu caffeine grab with Barry when she noticed milk leaking from the fridge. None of the employees had seen it yet—it was a busy Friday—but she knew it was dangerous to leave alone so she took it upon herself to clean up. The manager walked in on her doing it and offered her a job before she could apologise for overstepping her boundary.

“I still can’t believe that happened,” Barry said on the way to school the next Monday, “but you’ve always been pretty lucky.” Although he was genuinely happy for her, he couldn’t help the blue that seeped into his tone. He, too, had dabbled in job-hunting and found comfort in Iris’ unemployment but now he just felt left behind. 

“Hey.” Iris hooked her arm through his and nudged his shoulder playfully. “You can get discounts at Jitters now. If that’s not lucky, I don’t know what is.”

Barry laughed, his heart on fire from the way she was so candidly touching him. It was short-lived, however, because they made it to Central City High and she had to release him so they could go to their lockers, which were an unfortunate distance apart. As he was swapping out his books, Cisco pounced on him from behind.

“Barry!” he yelled. “Please tell me you’re going to Linda’s Halloween party.”

“Linda …?”

“Park.”

The name vaguely rang a bell, only because he was half-certain that Iris had a classmate in English who was named Linda Park, but he was unable to put a face to the name.

“I haven’t even heard about it,” he said, closing his locker.

“You need to check Facebook more.”

“Halloween falls on a Saturday this year so it’s pretty perfect,” said Caitlin, who, until then, had been leaning silently on the lockers next to them. Like Barry and Cisco, she took all three sciences. That was how they came to be friends.

“See? Even Caitlin’s going,” Cisco said.

“What do you mean ‘even’? I go out,” she argued, but Cisco just scrunched up his face as if warning her to stop while she was ahead.

“I don’t know,” Barry said, watching their exchange amusedly, “I don’t even have a costume in mind.”

“With a lot of determination and willpower, it is completely possible to scrounge up a costume in five days,” assured Cisco in all seriousness.

“Come on, Barry,” said Caitlin, “our next paper isn’t due until two weeks’ time and you know the teachers are still marking our tests so they’ll go easy on the homework for now.”

Barry liked a good party as much as the next guy but his desire to socialise came and went in waves and right now he felt like he had hit a trough. “No promises,” he said, and Caitlin and Cisco left it at that because they knew they would get to him sooner or later.

* 

Barry and Iris shared a free period during fourth so they met at the library, which was pretty much the only place to hang out if you wanted to avoid the autumn wind. She was sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room, her bag by her feet and her eyes searching the screen of her phone frantically. The window behind gave her a halo that made it nearly impossible for him to keep his breath. She didn’t even look up when he came to join her; she just began to rant: “So I totally forgot about Linda’s party this Friday and now I don’t have a costume.”

“Just buy one of those generic ones from the store,” he said as he took out his books.

She gasped. “You bite your tongue. I can’t wear a cheap costume to a party that seniors will be attending.”

“Since when do you care what seniors, or anyone, for that matter, think?”

“Since the whole point of me going is to impress Eddie Thawne.”

His whole body turned to stone. “Eddie Thawne? Captain-of-the-wrestling-team Eddie Thawne?”

“Who else?” she laughed.

“Your dad is never going to allow that,” he said, unable to think of anything else.

Understandably, she looked affronted. “My dad’s just gonna have to deal. Now, do you wanna go costume shopping after school or not?”

“I don’t think I’ll be that helpful.”

“Not just for me, silly; aren’t you going to the party, too?”

He looked at her raised eyebrows and thought of Eddie Thawne and sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

So, after school, Barry, Iris, Cisco and Caitlin met in the courtyard and walked to the mall together.

“I knew you’d give in,” Cisco whispered, smirking.

“Did you know that Iris was going?”

“Well, yeah, I had an inkling, but this is Iris; did you _not_ think she was gonna go?”

Cisco was only half-right. Barry hadn’t thought at all. Every time he did, he was haunted by prom and the eight-month deadline that was looming over him. It was hard enough trying to find the confidence, the small slither of hope that maybe she wouldn’t give him that awkward laugh and tell him that she didn’t see him that way, that she saw him as a brother, when he finally spit out the question, but how the hell was he supposed to cope now that Iris was actively trying to grab Eddie Thawne’s attention? And it was only a matter of time; Iris was too beautiful _not_ to draw attention.

“Dude.” Cisco snapped his fingers and Barry came to. “You all right?”

Barry cast a cautious glance up ahead to where Iris and Caitlin were talking, then leaned in and lowered his voice. “Iris has a crush on Eddie Thawne.”

“Eddie Thawne?” Cisco cried out.

“Shut up!”

He ducked his head sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry. Just … Eddie Thawne. Man, that’s rough.”

“Thank you; that was very encouraging.”

“Will you two hurry up?” Caitlin called, waiting with Iris at the pedestrian crossing. The light was still red, allowing them to catch up. “What are you thinking of going as, Barry?”

He shrugged. “Vampire?”

“Wow, you’re really going all out, huh?” Iris teased. “Though you _do_ give off that Edward Cullen vibe. You just need some glitter.”

“I was thinking more Count Dracula, with the cape and all.”

“Ooh, vintage.”

“Well, what are you going as?” he shot back, rolling his eyes, but there was a smile on his face he couldn’t wipe off.

“Zombie cheerleader?” She scrunched her nose. “I don’t know. I want to be scary but I want to look cute, too.”

He caught himself before he could assure her that she looked cute all the time.

“Zombie cheerleader isn’t such a bad idea,” Caitlin said, her head tilted thoughtfully to the side. “The cheerleader costume could come in handy some other time and zombie makeup sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Reusing costumes is a fashion faux pas and when would a cheerleader costume ever come in handy besides for Halloween anyway?” asked Cisco.

“A girl has her reasons,” Iris mused, frankly, in a voice that was much too seductive for Barry to handle. He swallowed thickly. She went on, “What are you going as, Caitlin?”

“Elsa from _Frozen_.”

“Seriously?”

“I tried to talk her out of it,” Cisco said gravely, “but she wouldn’t listen.”

“What’s wrong with Elsa?”

“If you’re gonna go as a Disney princess, at least go as one from a good movie,” said Iris.

“Elsa is a queen and I didn’t think _Frozen_ was that bad.”

“It wasn’t but it wasn't that good either,” Barry said. “It got way more credit than it deserved.”

“Totally overhyped,” Iris agreed.

“OP’d to the max,” said Cisco. “And going as the protagonist? Rookie mistake. You always wanna be the underdog. That’s why my costume is Frankenstein.”

“Are you kidding?” Iris said bluntly. “Frankenstein’s one of the most classic costumes out.”

“Ah, but you misunderstand. _Doctor_ Frankenstein; not Frankenstein’s monster.”

“Crazy scientist is another Halloween classic.”

There was a long stretch of silence during which Caitlin, Iris and Barry could only watch helplessly as the gears turned in Cisco’s head and a look of anguish dawned on him. “No!” he cried out. “What have I done!”

“Good job,” said Barry, half-amused, half-exasperated. He spent the next few hours trying to talk his friend out of impulse-buying several lame costumes they walked past in the mall while Caitlin and Iris worked on piecing together a zombie cheerleader outfit. All in all, it was a pretty good afternoon.

*

The night of the party, Barry should have been feeling good; he had done all his homework for the weekend, he managed to find a really great cape for an equally great price, the rest of his costume wasn’t looking too shabby either, and now he and his closest friends were gathered in his bedroom getting ready for what they seemed to think was going to be a fun night. Instead, he was filled with dread. This was a big night for Iris. If all went well, Eddie Thawne was going to know her name, assuming he didn’t already, and she was probably going to get his number and then he would ask her out and all her dreams would come true and Barry would crumble amidst his worst nightmare.

“How do I look?”

Iris appeared at his bedroom door, arms stretched out, looking like she was going to go eat the brains of all her friends at the Homecoming game. 

“Whoa,” Cisco whistled with approval, “talk about ‘Thriller’ material.”

That put a smile on her face. “I have Caitlin to thank for the makeup,” she said, playing with her skirt.

“Please, I barely touched you.”

Barry was still staring when Joe came up behind his daughter and peeked into the room. “Wow! Look at all of you! You guys look great.”

“Thanks, Mr West,” Caitlin said. She clapped her hands and collected her light blue clutch. “Are you guys ready to go? Barry?”

He cleared his throat, took one last glance at himself in the mirror, and turned around, the medallion at his neck glinting in the light as he nodded. 

“I expect you two to be back no later than midnight,” said Joe, which really meant eleven but he was just trying to look cool in front of Cisco and Caitlin.

“Yes, Daddy,” Iris said with a roll of her eyes. She kissed his cheek in goodbye and then headed down the stairs, the other three following after saying their own goodbyes and promising to be responsible tonight. There was, of course, the unspoken threat of Joe being an officer of the law.

Caitlin was the only one of their group who was able to drive and, evidently, had the most lenient parents because she was allowed to use her mother’s car for tonight. With Cisco yelling shotgun before it really crossed anyone’s mind, Barry and Iris filed into the backseat and Joe waved from the front door, watching until they were out of sight.

After a bit of a struggle that could only be settled by Google Maps, they made it onto Linda’s street. It was crowded with parked cars and they could see quite a few people on the sidewalk, shouting compliments about each other's costumes as they trekked to Linda's house. Caitlin had to park a while away and when they got out, Iris groaned, “I should’ve brought a jacket.” Everyone else’s costume at least had long sleeves.

The door to Linda’s house had been left wide open, allowing the Major Lazer song that was bouncing from wall to wall to blare out. 

“I know this song!” Caitlin said excitedly as they squeezed through.

“Everyone knows this song; it’s on the radio all the time,” laughed Iris.

Cisco shook his head. “Let her have this.”

After battling with the horde of dancing people in the living room, they found themselves in the kitchen. A few other people were there too but it wasn’t nearly as loud as the rest of the house. The guy at the sink looked up when they all walked in and eagerly offered to mix some drinks for them. They all turned him down except, of course, for Cisco.

“What did he even put in it?” Caitlin asked, frowning at the cup in question once they had found a quiet nook in the backyard to chill. 

“I don’t know but it tastes like ass,” he coughed.

Barry chuckled and looked over to check on Iris; she hadn’t said anything in a while. She sat on his left, hugging herself as if that would protect her from the night air, but her neck was craned and her eyes were darting all over the crowd. She was searching for someone. She was searching for Eddie.

“Hey,” he said, placing a hand on her knee to grab her attention. He did his best not to think about how it was bare, how he could feel her soft skin beneath his palm, how there were goosebumps. “He’s gonna be here.”

She almost wanted to ask him how he knew what she’d been worrying about but should she have expected any less? This was Barry, after all. She placed her hand over his and gave him a thankful smile.

“I don’t know about you guys,” Cisco spoke up, “but I’m ready to dance.”

“Yes!” Caitlin cheered. She shot to her feet, grabbed Cisco’s horrible drink, and downed it. “You’re right; it does taste like ass. Now let’s go!” She tugged Cisco back into the house and Barry laughed as he watched them go.

“Do you want to join them?" asked Iris.

He faced her with pleasant surprise. “Yeah, actually, I do.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” She took his hand in hers and led him to the living room where the music was the loudest. Caitlin and Cisco were probably too deep into the crowd now for them to be spotted so Iris just nudged her way to a place she liked and turned to grin at her best friend. Barry was by no means a good dancer. He was kind of self-conscious and awkward with his body, had no idea how to move in time with the beat, but watching him brought her joy.

When ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ came on, the crowd, Iris included, cheered loudly. It wasn’t a party without a few throwback songs in the playlist. Barry smiled at the sight of her and forgot about how bad he was at feeling the rhythm. She grabbed his hands and swung her hips and although he couldn’t hear it he saw her laugh.

The second verse began, someone dialled up the volume, and Whitney sang:

_I need a man who’ll take a chance_

_On a love that burns hot enough to last_

_So when the night falls_

_My lonely heart calls_

Barry was beginning to think that maybe this wasn’t as hard as he was making it out to be. Maybe all that mattered was that he wanted to dance with somebody. Specifically, he wanted to dance with Iris at prom and maybe that was enough to convince her to say yes.

It was now or never.

“Iris,” he said over the music, “I need to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Will you go to prom with me?”

“No, I meant ‘what’ as in I can’t hear you!”

“I need to ask you something!”

“I still can’t hear you!” She motioned for him to say it in her ear but when she faced the other way so he could do so she snapped back. “Eddie!”

That was something he heard loud and clear. He turned to look in the same direction she was looking at and saw Eddie Thawne and a couple of his friends walk through the door.

“You were right, Barry!” Iris said excitedly. “He came!”

He nodded, numb.

“I’m gonna go get a drink; totally not drunk enough to talk to him yet.” With a laugh, she kissed his cheek and then scampered off towards the kitchen. He stared after her and sighed. He may have liked the song booming through the loudspeakers, and the people around him may have been laughing and having the time of their lives, but Barry certainly did not want to dance with anybody at all anymore.


	3. The Status

“Hey, Barry,” Caitlin chirped, dropping her things onto the desk and taking the seat beside him. She sounded a little out of breath; he assumed it had something to do with the freezing trek to school. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

He shrugged. “Normal, I guess. What about yours?”

“Mum burnt our turkey. It was painful.”

“We don’t have turkey in our family,” announced Cisco, joining them at the table with a flourish.

“Really?”

“Well, we do, but it’s not roasted. We do it Puerto Rican style—seasoned like a pig and stuffed with mofongo.”

Caitlin smiled. “So I take it you had a good Thanksgiving then?”

“Oh, not at all. My brother Dante was in charge of the Pavochan this year and he totally blew it. Imagine, like, fifty Puerto Ricans all under one roof with nothing to eat but plantain chips and garlic mojo sauce. It was a nightmare.”

Barry raised his eyebrow. “So why are you smiling?”

“Because Dante, the perfect son, screwed up! I have a lot to be thankful for.” Cisco nodded fondly and flipped open his books as the other two chuckled. “Did you guys watch the game?”

“Eh,” said Caitlin, making a face. “All I know is we won. Go Buckeyes.”

“Unfortunately, I did,” Barry muttered, which made Cisco wince.

“Let me guess: Eddie?”

“Yup. They’ve only been on four dates together but she’s already bringing him home to meet the family? And on the Thanksgiving weekend no less.”

“Four dates is pretty reasonable,” Caitlin said as sympathetically as she could, a wrinkle between her brows. “They seem to really like each other.”

Barry knew this, which was why he hated the situation even more. Eddie was a good guy; he treated Iris well, always brought her home before curfew and walked her to the door, he was sincere and well-spoken, polite to Joe even though he called Eddie a pretty boy, got along fine with Barry himself. He had a future in wrestling but worked hard to maintain good grades. Iris said he was interested in becoming a police officer. If anyone deserved her, it was Eddie. But Barry didn’t like it one bit. 

“I guess this means you’re on your own, Cisco,” he sighed. 

“On your own for what?” asked Caitlin.

The two boys exchanged a look before Cisco relented. “Barry and I had a deal that if I asked Melinda Tores to the prom, he’d ask Iris.”

“But seeing as she’s got a boyfriend, that plan’s gone down the toilet.”

“Hey, it’s not official until it’s Facebook official.”

“He’s met Joe; I think that’s official enough.”

Caitlin reached over to squeeze Barry’s hand but the conversation was left at that when their teacher arrived and the lesson commenced. It wasn’t the first time thoughts of Iris had distracted him from physics.

*

Ever since Iris began to work at Jitters, the three of them had taken to visiting her during her work hours, and while Caitlin and Cisco were probably just in it for the discounted coffee, Barry liked to sit and watch her serve customers. In a totally non-creepy way, of course.

“Guys!” she chirped when she saw them walk through the door, a black apron courtesy of the coffeehouse tied around her waist. “Take a seat. Guess what? We started selling cronuts!”

“What!” gasped Cisco. “Hook a brother up, Iris.”

“You betcha. Caitlin?”

“I’ll just have a muffin, thanks, Iris.”

“The usual for you, Bar?”

“Uh, yeah. Thank you.”

With a smile, Iris jogged back to her spot behind the counter, where her coworker Stacy was waiting for her. “I see your shadow and his little posse are here again,” Stacy said, smirking as she gave the customer she was serving a few dollars of change.

Iris rolled her eyes. “Will you stop calling them that? They’re my friends.”

“Hey, it’s cute.” Stacy looked over at where Barry sat and snorted when she found him staring back. He dashed his eyes away in panic. “I’m actually growing rather fond of him. Is he coming to Trivia Night?”

“I forgot to ask!” Iris gasped. “I should go do that.” She collected a few cronuts on a plate, popped Caitlin’s muffin into the microwave and brewed some coffee for the three of them before approaching their table. As she set their orders down, she announced, “So, Jitters is hosting a trivia night on Thursday; you guys should come. There’s always a few science questions to stump the contestants so you’d have the upper hand.”

Cisco pursed his lips in consideration. “What’s the prize if we win?”

“A seventy-five dollar coffee card. You won’t even have to split it with me.”

“Count us in.”

“Great!” Her whole face lit up and Barry just couldn’t believe how radiant she was. And then suddenly her eyes were on him and his mind went blank. “Hey,” she said in a softer voice, stepping closer to him. Cisco and Caitlin began their own conversation, taking the hint and wanting to give them some space. “I get off early tonight. Do you wanna watch a movie with me after?”

“Yeah,” said Barry, “that sounds good.” 

“Awesome. I’ll see you later.” She touched his elbow and gave him another one of her bright smiles before resuming her job.

Caitlin, Barry and Cisco finished their drinks and stayed for another half an hour, talking about nothing in particular, before they all went their separate ways home. Barry did the best he could to focus on his homework but every few seconds his mind would drift with excitement. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Iris had gone out to watch a movie. Actually, he could, but that was just because everything he did with Iris was worth remembering. That didn’t mean it hadn’t been a long time. The both of them had been busy looking for jobs and as a consequence felt guilty about going out and spending Joe’s money so they had resorted to watching movies online on one of their laptops, propping it up on the coffee table and then laying back on the couch.

He gave up on homework completely when he heard the front door open and close, signalling Iris’ return. He straightened out his clothes and then ventured downstairs just as she was draping her coat over the back of the couch. “Hey, you,” she said when she saw him. “Let me go change and then we can head out.”

“Sure.” He nodded even though he thought she looked fine with the clothes she had on now.

She went upstairs and, ten minutes later, returned in a black top and some grey jeans. She picked up her coat and smiled at him. “Ready?”

They set off for Vogue Theatre on foot, Barry shoving his hands in his pockets to hide them from the wind. “What exactly are we watching?”

She shot him a knowing smile. “ _The Martian_.”

“I’ve been wanting to watch that since it came out,” he said vibrantly.

“I know. You totally owe me; I’m missing out on the _Blue Devil_ sequel for this.”

“Trust me, I’ve read the reviews, you won’t regret a thing.”

Her smile grew wider. 

When they got to the cinema, she bought their tickets and he got them some popcorn. He turned the flashlight on his phone on so they could find their seats, then lifted the armrest between them so they had a place to keep the popcorn bucket. She couldn’t deny that the movie was good. She took the science as it came, understanding the basics and brushing off what was too advanced for her, but while the cinematography was breathtaking and Matt Damon finally hearing his teammates’ voices made her tear up, the highlight of the whole two hours was definitely seeing Barry on the edge of his seat, consuming all the drama and the science, hardly touching the popcorn and feeling blindly for it when he did because he didn’t want to take his eyes off the screen for a second. 

“The science was pretty much spot on,” he gushed when they left. “I mean, you can’t have everything be accurate in Hollywood but it was about as true to the laws of physics and chemistry as it was gonna get.”

She could only shake her head fondly. “How about we go grab some fro-yo, nerd?”

“In this cold?”

“It is never too cold for frozen yogurt, Barry.”

“Okay,” he laughed, following her lead. His chest felt light and he thought that maybe things weren’t such a disaster after all. Sure, Iris had gone on four dates with Eddie and come home with nothing but hearts in her eyes each time, but that didn’t mean everything was ruined. As she had shown him tonight, she still had time for him; they could still be best friends. Nothing had to change.

*

Thursday night rolled around, Trivia Night, and Barry was actually kind of looking forward to it. He met Cisco and Caitlin outside Jitters and they walked in together. Most of the tables were occupied and someone had rolled a TV next to the counter; it was currently showing a title page very much like the one from the _Uncle Oswald Show_. 

“You made it!” Iris called happily as she approached. She handed Barry an iPad and said, “The turnout was bigger than expected so I kind of have to work but Eddie has a table saved so why don’t you guys go join him and I’ll bring you some drinks?”

“Oh, Eddie’s here.” Caitlin glanced at Barry before covering up her surprise with a smile.

“Yeah, and don’t forget to think of a team name. See you later!”

Awkwardly, the three of them went to join Eddie, realising that it was the first time they had all actually hung out together. Sure, Eddie had come over to watch the game but they didn’t really interact. Tonight at Jitters was different. Barry was surrounded by friends Eddie didn’t know and he didn’t have Iris to facilitate a conversation; he would have to talk to Eddie all on his own. But he told himself to calm down, that it wouldn’t be that bad. Surely, if Eddie and Iris got along, he and Barry could get along, too.

“You guys have any ideas for a team name?” Eddie asked.

Barry grabbed a pen and wrote on the notepad adorning their table ‘E = MC Hammer.’ However, it earned blank expressions all around. “Come on,” he said. “Einstein’s theory of kinetic energy and ‘You Can’t Touch This’? It’s funny.”

“Incorrect is what it is,” said Caitlin. “That’s Einstein’s theory of the conservation of mass.”

But the host for tonight had announced their team name and so it was too late to change.

Cisco shook his head in disappointment. “Next time leave the names to me, man.”

Eddie just laughed good-naturedly.

After the warm up round, Iris came bearing a tray of all their favourite drinks and stayed to answer a few questions. She and Cisco hit it off during the pop culture round, earning their team some useful points, but she ultimately left when the scientific questions started popping up and she deemed herself useless. Unfortunately, they came second and received a coffee card with fifty dollars, which they battled for in a game of scissors-paper-rock. Caitlin took the card and offered them a ride home and Barry only said yes because he knew Iris was going to stay late and then come back with Eddie. 

Cisco, who had called shotgun, again, was scrolling through Facebook during the ride to the West household when he blurted out, “Uh-oh.”

“What?” Caitlin asked, briefly glancing at him before returning her gaze to the road.

“So, Iris updated her relationship status.”

“No.”

“Yup. She and Eddie have made it Facebook official.”

Barry took out his own phone, not because he didn’t believe Cisco, but he just wanted to see it for himself. And when he saw their names on his feed, the heart, their smiling profile pictures, it really hit him: he was in love with his best friend and he had waited too long to tell her. It was too late. She loved someone else.


	4. The Gift

IRIS: what do u want for christmas??

IRIS: and don’t say nothing

BARRY: idk

Iris sighed in defeat. Barry hadn’t been very forthcoming with conversation lately. She didn’t know whether she was reading into it too much, because his reply could very well have been just another example of his smart aleck teasing, but when he didn’t follow it up with a wink emoji she knew that there was something going on with him and it had been going on for a while now.

“So?” asked Tracy, causing her head to snap up. “Did he say anything?”

“Nope.” Iris put her phone away and gratefully took the cup of coffee her friend offered her. “It’s okay; I’m sure I’ll think of something. I didn’t grow up one bedroom away from him without learning a thing or two.”

“What about Eddie?”

She paused. She’d almost forgotten. “No idea,” she said finally, staring at the mall entrance and the subsequent crowd inside with trepidation. “We’re still kind of in the early stages. I don’t really know what he likes; I don’t even know how much I should spend.”

“Do you have any idea what _he’s_ gonna get _you_?” Tracy asked as they pushed their way inside and headed for the foodcourt.

“Nope. Like I said: early stages.”

The two of them met up with Stacy, the missing piece of their Jitters trio. “What’re we talking about?” she asked by way of greeting.

“Boyfriend presents.”

Stacy nodded knowingly. “Well, one’s thing for sure: if he gets you jewellery, you know he’s got it bad.”

*

Caitlin rocked up early on the last day of school before winter break so that she could return all the books she’d borrowed from the school library. It was extra cold and she kind of wished she had dropped by Jitters for something warm to drink first but she pushed the library doors open and sighed in relief when she felt the heat blasting from the vents above.

The only other person there besides the librarian was a senior standing by the copy machine. He turned around, probably at the sound of her opening the door, and she quickly looked away so he didn’t think she was staring. She placed her bag on a nearby desk in order to grab all the books she was returning but saw that he was still looking at her. Confused, she looked over her shoulder.

“I’m looking at you,” he laughed.

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Trying to figure out if you’re the girl who dressed up as Elsa from _Frozen_ at Linda Park’s Halloween party.”

And while she had been adamant with her friends that it was a good idea at the time, she felt herself flush with both embarrassment and regret now. Still, she lifted her chin. “Indeed I am.”

“Good,” he said, drawing closer to her, “because I like that girl.”

Then she realised. “Are you … Prince Zuko?”

“Technically, my name’s Ronnie Raymond, but yeah.”

Without the burn mark splashed across his left eye it was difficult to recognise him but he definitely _sounded_ like the guy that had approached her at the Halloween party almost two months ago.

“And you?”

“Me?” she parroted, blinking.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh! It’s Caitlin. Caitlin Snow.”

He held out his hand and though he wasn’t a firebender, at least, not anymore, he was still hot to the touch. “Nice to meet you, Caitlin.”

*

Almost magically, Iris’ phone vibrated just as the last bell of the day rang. Her classmates shot out of their seats, excited to begin their Christmas vacation, but she stayed sitting, unlocking her phone and checking the text she had just received.

EDDIE: come outside

Curiosity took hold of her and, quickly, she swept her books into her bag and manoeuvred through the crowded hallway, forgoing a visit to her locker. When she burst through the exit doors, she saw that sometime during class it had begun to snow. The concrete steps were wet with melted frost but the soil and grass flanking the courtyard glittered with snowflakes. She took a moment to absorb the sight, her breath clouding in front of her, and then continued down to the sidewalk where she was met with her surprise.

Eddie stood with a smile on his face, leaning back against a car. It was bordering on ten years old but it still looked to be in perfect condition. It was black, touched by the Volkswagen logo, and Iris knew that it was a hand-me-down from his father paraded as an early birthday present.

“Eddie!” she laughed. “This is so great. Congratulations.” She hooked him by the collar of his winter coat and tugged his mouth to hers, planting a celebratory kiss. 

“Wanna take it for a spin?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

With a flourish, he opened the car door for her and then rounded to the other side to get in himself. The leather interior was cold to the touch but once the engine was on and the heater running, the two of them were happy to circle the block and make small talk.

“Actually,” Eddie said when they were stopped at a red light, “there’s somewhere I want to take you.”

“Am I allowed to know where or is it another surprise?” she asked fondly.

“Hm. You can pick.”

“Tell me.”

“The Winter Garden.”

She raised a brow, unable to decide whether she should act delighted or not because, honestly, she was just content at best. The Winter Garden was a sort of festival held in the greenery behind Central City’s biggest cathedral. It usually ran the weekend before Christmas and served as a place for families to ice skate in the open air, listen to live music, and try some home-cooked food. Her dad had taken her and Barry once or twice when they were kids and while it was admittedly quite fun it was also nothing special. Nothing to warrant Eddie’s current excitement, at least. But she just gave him a bemused grin and said, “Take me to church, then, Hozier,” to which he frowned and wondered why his girlfriend made the oddest references to pop culture.

They drove to the cathedral and parked by a street that had been closed off to accommodate the festival. Iris had to admit that it looked more grand than she remembered. There were fairy lights strung on every tree and Mariah Carey’s Christmas album was playing through the speakers while the local band took a break offstage. When they ventured deeper into the crowd, Eddie grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her to one of the food stalls. She didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the sign but when she looked down at the dishes on display she laughed. “I’ve never eaten Chinese food for Christmas before.”

“Neither have I,” replied Eddie with a grin. He ordered them some wonton soup and ying yang rice and it was pretty amazing being handed Chinese tea in paper cups.

Miraculously, they found an unoccupied bench near the ice skating rink and sat down to eat. As expected of home-cooked food, it was delicious, and the soup was perfect for the weather. It was still kind of snowing so every now and then their meals would catch some rogue snowflakes but they just went on eating. “It’s like drinking rain, isn’t it?” asked Iris. “Rain’s the cleanest water out.” But she didn’t know this for sure; she remembered nothing of freshman science.

Eddie laughed at her and put their rubbish in the bin. “Do you wanna skate for a while?”

“Definitely,” she said excitedly, “I haven’t ice skated since grade school.”

“You sure you aren’t out of practice?”

“What’s got _you_ so cocky?”

“I dabble in ice hockey; I think I’m good.”

“We’ll see about that.”

She raced him to the stand and they rented two pairs of skates, Eddie bending down to tie her laces for her, which she thought was an incredibly sweet gesture even though she could do them herself. She had to hold onto the side of the rink when they stepped on the ice, which earned her a bit of a smirk from him but she haughtily ignored his overconfidence and attempted to get used to the feel of blades beneath her feet. He grabbed her hands and dragged her around the rink. He _was_ good. In fact, despite his bragging, he was even better than he let on. Beneath being impressed, she actually found it endearing. They raced each other a couple of times, almost knocking kids over and sheepishly forcing apart elderly couples who were holding hands. When they finally decided to call it even, though she knew Eddie had kept score, the sky was black and smoky with clouds. The lights on the stage were flashing blue and purple, making a rainbow out of the snow that fell heavier than expected.

“I should get you home,” Eddie murmured, touching between her shoulder blades. She wrapped herself deeper in her coat and nodded, following him back to the car. “Look in the back seat, would you?” he asked before she could get in.

“Okay.” She frowned but did as told and found a neatly wrapped present waiting for her on the leather. It was thin and rectangular, almost like a notebook, with silver string laced around it. She took it gently in her hands, noting how sturdy it felt, and looked back at Eddie.

“My family’s spending the holidays up at my grandparents’ place so I won’t be seeing you for a while,” he explained. “You get your present early.”

“Can I open it now?”

He laughed. “Sure.”

They got in the car to avoid the cold, turning on the heater while Iris delicately peeled back the lavender-coloured wrapping paper to reveal—a framed photo. They didn’t believe in anniversaries below six months but they had gone to Amarasia Oasis on a whim to celebrate their one-month and had asked one of the waitresses to take their picture. Seeing the smiles on their faces made her smile as well and it only grew wider when she noticed that, in the picture, Eddie’s eyes were kind of teary. That was the last time they had Indian food; he really could not handle his spices. 

“I made the frame myself,” Eddie announced, “in woodwork.”

“It’s lovely,” she said, stroking it affectionately. “Thank you, Eddie.” She leaned over, leaving the photo on her lap, and gave him a long, slow kiss, his stubble scratching her fingers. It wasn’t jewellery but what did Stacy know about boyfriends and love? This was more thoughtful.

Right?

*

Iris woke up unnecessarily early on Christmas Day. Whether due to excitement or something else, she didn’t quite know but she threw on a robe and rushed downstairs, finding Joe making breakfast in the kitchen and Barry on the couch frowning at some holiday special episode of an old TV show. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard her footsteps and a moment of uncertainty passed between them. She didn’t know what expression to make, what expression he would make; he’d been acting strangely since Trivia Night. But then he smiled and she could breathe easy. She gave him a grin back and joined him on the couch as Joe came in with a large plate of pancakes. 

“You're awake,” he said happily. “Now we can exchange gifts.”

“My favourite part about Christmas,” she teased. She grabbed a pancake off the plate on the coffee table and then crawled over to the tree, collecting the presents she had wrapped herself. 

Joe laughed when he opened his, courtesy of both Barry and Iris. They had gotten him a vinyl of Duke Ellington’s Live at the Blue Note to replace the one that Iris had accidentally broken and been so unfairly, she stressed, punished for. Although he’d been fuming at the time, having it in his hands now really brought back some fond memories. “Thank you, guys. This is great.”

“Barry, this is yours.”

Iris gave him a box much larger than the one they’d gotten Joe. It was substantially weighted, wrapped in red, green, and gold. The card beneath the bow simply said ‘With love, from Iris.’ He opened it, smiling, and found the complete box set of the first season of the Discovery Channel’s documentary series _Curiosity_ staring back at him. “Yes!” he said excitedly. “Thank you so much.”

She beamed. “You're welcome, you nerd.”

Joe’s turn came next. He brandished a handbag for Iris, large enough to carry her schoolbooks, water bottle, and lunch if needed, complete with a slot for her laptop. For Barry, who had been layering blazers and hoodies all winter, he bought a proper coat. He watched Barry try it on and when he was satisfied with the way it fit he disappeared into the kitchen to give his two kids a moment alone.

“This is for you, Iris,” Barry said softly, picking out the smallest present from under the tree. It didn’t look particularly striking; she noticed he had used the leftover snowman gift wrap from last year, but that didn’t wane her excitement as she ripped it open. Within the box was a brooch in the shape of a butterfly, its wings a sparkly mix of purple and green. “In fifth grade I remember we had to make clay sculptures of the thing we feared the most and you made a butterfly. The other kids made fun of you because, come on, butterflies? But it helped you cope with your phobia and you were so sad when you accidentally dropped it.” Gently, he took the brooch out of its box and reached out to fasten it to her pyjama top. They were still close together when he said, “Hopefully this one’ll be harder to break. I just want you to know that it’s okay to be scared, but as long as you have this and as long as you have me, you won’t have to do it alone.”

Iris wiped at her eyes, abashed, and whispered, “Thank you, Bar, I love it.” To think she had gotten him some DVDs when he’d gone all out this year. He had never done that before. She touched her collarbone where his present lay, wondering briefly if a brooch was considered a piece of jewellery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, guys! A little warning that updates will be pretty scarce for a while; January, February and March are always busy months for me.


	5. The Valentine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to release this on Valentine's Day but I totally forgot. I'm sorry!

“Wow. I know you guys are kind of like brother and sister but that’s deep. I got my brother a bottle of wine for Christmas and even then it was the cheapest one I could find,” Cisco said as the two of them played table tennis in his basement.

“Yeah, but you don’t really get along with your brother.” Barry parried with a backhand and sighed. “I’m telling you, man, she seems different now. Ever since I gave her the brooch … I don’t know.”

“I think you’re forgetting the existence of one Eddie Thawne who, I’m willing to bet, Iris is still very much in love with.” The ball whipped past Cisco’s head, forcing him to retreat and grab it off the floor. “What are you going to do, Barry? Ruin their relationship? Be a homewrecker?”

Barry rolled his eyes. “No, of course not.” He would have continued to explain himself but he had no idea what he truly wanted. He hadn’t thought that far. Lately, all he could think about was the way Iris looked at him after opening his present, like fog had lifted and her mind’s eye was seeing something clearly for the first time. Her features had melted and he could have sworn she had been on the precipice of something, of falling into a pit of knowledge, but then she had become uncertain, incredulous, her brows had pushed together and she’d left it at ‘Thank you, Bar, I love it.’

“If what you’re saying is true and you think that there’s still some room left in Iris’ heart for somebody that isn’t Eddie,” Cisco said in the dramatic way that he had sometimes, “I have an idea.”

Barry raised an eyebrow and realised that their game of ping pong had stopped. “I’m listening.”

“Valentine’s Day is coming up and you know that CC High does that whole candygram thing. You should send her a rose.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little too obvious?”

“You don’t have to sign your name; make it from a secret admirer. You just wanna scope out Iris’ reaction, see how she feels about another guy liking her.”

Barry nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. Maybe.”

*

The week before Valentine’s Day, a stall had been set up in the quadrangle in order to collect all requests for rose deliveries. Cisco had toyed with the idea of sending one to Melinda but even after several days of contemplation and Barry beside him in the queue he was still undecided.

“Come on,” said Barry, “this way we’ll both get to test the waters. Get her a rose and if she doesn’t mention it then you'll know how she feels and you can just avoid her for life or whatever. If she does, well, then you will know how she feels and you won’t have to avoid her.”

“It’s not that simple,” Cisco snapped.

“It kind of is.”

“If she doesn’t mention it, do you really want me to live the rest of my life in regret and shame that I ever pulled such a stunt and got tragically rejected?”

Barry rolled his eyes and moved up in the line when the guy in front of them walked off. “Are you doing this or not because—Iris!”

Cisco turned and stared, horrified, at who was manning the candygram stall and then exchanged a stricken look with his friend.

“Hey, guys,” Iris said bemusedly, “you here to order some roses?”

Barry coughed. “Actually, Cisco here—”

“A rose for Barry, please!” Cisco blurted.

Barry glared at him.

“Wow. Really?” asked Iris, blinking. She scrambled for her pen and an order slip and then shot the two of them a belated smile. “Okay, who’s it for?”

“Uh …” Barry reached desperately into the far corners of his mind for some improvisational skills while cursing Cisco’s existence. “Linda Park?”

Iris looked surprised and, honestly, he couldn’t blame her. Yes, Linda had invited him to her Halloween party but he barely spoke to her. Iris looked kind of betrayed, too, but she wrote Linda’s name down on the recipient line in her neat handwriting. “You have never once mentioned having a crush on Linda Park,” she said in a slightly accusatory tone. “Best friends are supposed to tell each other everything!”

He winced. “I wouldn’t call it a crush exactly.”

“You’re sending her flowers for Valentine’s Day, Barry. Pretty sure that counts as a crush.”

The two of them looked at Cisco but he just shrugged helplessly.

"Okay, well, do you want me to put your name on it?"

Barry should have said no, made the rose from a secret admirer and been done with it, but there was something about the way Iris was setting her jaw that compelled him to nod. He and Cisco watched her sign his name and then place the slip in a pile with the others, all of them tensely silent, before she looked up and gave a half-hearted smile.

“Done and done.”

“Thanks, Iris,” Barry said softly. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Yeah.”

He turned away with some reluctance, all vindication dissolving, and she watched him go, her expression falling flat.

*

If Central City High could only be described in one word, the majority of its students would probably pick ‘festive.’ No matter how big or small the holiday, there was always some kind of decoration colouring the corridors and the student council always had some sort of event in the works, promoted via flyers tacked to the school notice board.

Knowing this, it wasn’t that surprising walking through the doors that day and finding a pink wonderland waiting for her on the other side. Caitlin could see hearts everywhere: hanging from the ceiling lights, on the windows in paint, stuck to the walls. The air smelled of flowers and perfume and sugar and the campus couples seemed a little more forthcoming with their PDA, the staff a little more lenient to let the touches slide. Love song dedications were playing through the PA system and rose petals lined the route to her locker, where she found Cisco and Barry talking.

“Talk about overkill or what?” she said, taking out her books for first and second period.

“I like it,” proclaimed Cisco, “love is a beautiful thing and it should be celebrated.”

“Says the person who chickened out of confessing his love to his crush,” Barry muttered.

“I stand by my decision. Hey, hey!” Cisco yelled to a pair of freshmen getting a little too handsy. “Keep it in your pants.” He shook his head. “Kids are wild these days. The most action I got as a freshman was my seat mate leaning over so she could cheat off my algebra test.”

Caitlin and Barry laughed, entering the chemistry lab. They sat down, Mr Stein already at his desk, but he did not begin the lesson. Instead, a senior burst through the door, shirtless, with wings on his back and what looked to be a bed sheet fashioned around his waist like a diaper. He was carrying a basket of roses on one arm, his other hand occupied by a plastic bow and arrow. 

“Oh my god,” Caitlin gasped. “It’s Zuko!”

“Who?” Cisco asked quizzically.

“Uh, the guy I talked to at Linda’s party.”

“Oh yeah, he added you on Facebook.”

“I know,” she said, watching Ronnie hand out some roses. To her complete and utter shock, he stopped in front of her desk and laid a rose over her notebook, giving her a smile before departing for the next classroom.

“Go Caitlin,” Barry said, half-surprised, half-impressed. “Who’s it from?”

She flipped open the card attached to the stem.

_To: Queen Elsa._

_From: Prince Zuko._

_Happy Valentine's Day._

*

“Happy Valentine’s Day, slugger.”

Barry chuckled weakly. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

His father spent a moment analysing the fatigue on his face through the glass before asking, “What’s wrong?”

Barry sighed. “There’s this girl.”

“Iris?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s painfully obvious,” Henry said, and then gestured to his surroundings, “even from in here.”

“What can I say? I have feelings for her and she’s dating someone else but I’m just so sick of keeping it bottled up inside. I hate lying to her like this.”

“Then don’t.”

“What?”

“Tell her how you feel. Yes, the timing isn’t great but she deserves to know.”

“But ... that would change everything.”

“And rightly so. Your whole life this fear of change has held you back. I know that, after your mum and me, you’re afraid of losing Iris as well, but you shouldn’t let these things consume you anymore. Don’t let it dictate your life. Let it go, son.”

Barry frowned. Sure, it was easy to talk about throwing caution to the wind but he knew that if things didn’t turn out the way he hoped he would regret his decision to tell her at all. He would consider it a mistake and that was a point he didn’t want to reach because having feelings for Iris wasn’t a mistake. Sometimes it caused him pain but he ultimately found it a blessing. It was enough to be able to look upon her even though she never looked back.

Wasn’t it?

Barry clenched his hand tighter around the phone, eyes flickering up to meet his father’s steady gaze, and when Henry nodded in encouragement, he found himself nodding back.

After leaving Iron Heights, Barry made his way to Jitters; Iris was working the night shift. He took out his phone and sent Cisco a quick text.

BARRY: I’m going to tell Iris I love her

It was redundant, however, because he bumped into said friend around the corner of Vogue Theatre, Caitlin beside him. 

“Dude!” Cisco yelped, arms shooting out to steady both of them. “What’s the rush?”

“Did you get my text?”

He frowned, glanced at Caitlin, who shrugged, then reached into his pocket to check his phone. “No …”

“I _just_ sent it.”

“I didn’t get a text, man.” He held the screen out as proof.

Barry squinted in confusion and pulled out his own phone, bringing up the message to look at the recipient. 

IRIS.


	6. The Aftermath

“Barry, just calm down,” Caitlin said, squeezing his shoulder, “breathe. There’s still time. Look; it says she hasn’t seen it yet.”

“She’s gonna see it sooner or later,” Barry snapped, hands rooting his hair. “This is _so_ not how I wanted to tell her.”

Cisco looked mildly terrified on his behalf but also couldn’t help feeling a little amused. “What are you going to do?”

Barry dragged his hands down his face. “I don’t know. I was on my way to Jitters to see her so I guess I’ll just keep doing that.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” asked Caitlin.

“No, no. It’s okay. I’ll see you guys at school.” With a miserable wave, Barry left them and resumed his route to the coffeehouse at a much slower pace than was previously used. If he went any faster, he would probably overwork his heart and go into cardiac arrest. Sure, he had been totally ready to spill his guts to Iris but now that she actually had an inkling as to how he was feeling, he wasn’t ready at all.

Iris wasn’t there when he arrived at Jitters. He asked one of her coworkers and learned that she was taking a break, which meant she was enjoying some silence and scenery on the roof. He took the stairs two at a time, hands shaking as he pushed the door open.

There she was, void of the coffeehouse apron, bunched in a long coat and a thick scarf, her wavy hair flying all over the place and her face scrunched against the wind. In her hand was her phone.

The fire exit slammed closed behind him and both of them jumped.

“Barry,” she breathed. 

He swallowed his tongue.

With a troubled expression, she glanced at her phone and then lifted it for him to see even though he was too far away to be able to actually read anything. Still, he knew what she was referring to and she knew that he’d know. “This wasn’t meant for me, was it?”

He shook his head.

“Is it true?”

He saw, beneath the collar of her coat, the edge of a purple and green butterfly wing peeking out, glinting under the safety light. 

“Yeah,” he said, approaching her and gently taking her in his arms so he could rest his chin on her shoulder. “I love you, Iris.” He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his heart back down his throat, and then words came tumbling out and he felt so removed it was almost like he was watching the scene of a movie unfolding itself. “I’ve had a crush on you since we were kids, since before I came to live with you and since before crushes even became a thing. In science we’re taught that there’s always an explanation for everything, but the way you make me feel? There’s no way I can even _try_ to apply logic to that. And I know I should have told you sooner, I know I’ve had ages to tell you, but I was always terrified that you’d never want to speak to me again.” He pulled away but kept her at arm’s length. “I know you’re dating Eddie and I don’t mean to put you in a tough spot. I just … I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I’m tired of pretending.”

She took a step back and looked down. “Barry, I …”

But he got the message.

“Right. I’m sorry.”

And then he left.

*

This was exactly the kind of change he had been dreading his whole life. That night, they had spaghetti for dinner. Joe herded both of them to the table but there was a knock on the door and Iris belatedly remembered that she had invited Eddie to join them. Barry tried to smile in hello but it crumbled completely at the sight of Iris’ arms looped around Eddie’s, a joyous twinkle in her eye as she tugged him to the table and served him a plate. Barry ate what he could, which wasn’t much, spoke when he was spoken to, and then got up, put his dish in the sink, and retired to his room for the rest of the night.

In the morning, he learned that Iris had left for school without him, picked up by Eddie. It wasn’t such an outlier of an occurrence but as he made his way to Central City High by himself, feet dragging along the muddy slush, he knew that somehow she had begged Eddie not to let her walk today.

Caitlin and Cisco were fully prepared to bug him for details on how his confession went but when they saw the look on his face as he swapped out books from his locker they decided to interrogate him another time. He barely made notes in class, never put up his hand, and during lunch they sat inside, briefly watching Iris follow her friends from English class to another table. Once, she tried to brave some eye contact, but he wouldn’t let her catch his gaze and so she fell back into conversation with her friends, her shoulders slumped.

“What’s up with you and Iris?” Joe asked when Barry got back from school after a few days of this recurring awkwardness.

“Nothing’s up,” he said, “why would anything be up? Everything’s perfectly down where it belongs.”

Joe stared at him. “According to these things I like to call eyes, I can see that everything’s not ‘down.’”

Barry let his school bag fall heavily to the floor and then collapsed beside Joe on the couch with a deep sigh. “I told Iris.”

“About your crush on her?”

He nodded, not even surprised that he knew.

“Wow.” Joe blinked at the space in front of him, lacing his hands together on his knees. “What did she say?”

“She’s on a date with Eddie as we speak; what do you think she said?”

Joe pursed his lips sympathetically and squeezed Barry’s shoulder.

“I just want to forget it ever happened. I’m gonna go upstairs and dig up some info on memory erasure.”

*

“Haven’t seen that shadow of yours around here lately,” Stacy spoke up one afternoon as she cleaned out the espresso machine. 

Iris, who had been reaching into the pastry case to put in some scones, paused and stared at the customers through the glass. “He’s been busy,” was all she replied with, and continued her job. She could have said that they had a bit of a falling out, or that he told her he liked her and now she had no idea how to react around him, but she wasn’t quite sure that these things were true. She didn’t want to think that she was ‘falling out’ of Barry or, possibly worse, that Barry was falling out of her, and although her not knowing how to act in his presence was half-true it was not the reason she felt so troubled. 

“That’s too bad,” said Stacy. “Oh, hey, someone needs a refill.”

Iris looked up at the customer in question and nodded, heading over with a pot of coffee. She went around to some other tables to do the same and that was when she came across Caitlin, with a guy no less. 

“I’ll be right back,” he was saying when she approached. They almost collided but she sidestepped at the last second and gave a grin when she saw who he was. He smiled back before heading to the bathroom.

“Iris,” Caitlin greeted.

She came to sit down in the newly vacated seat and pushed gently at Caitlin’s shoulder. “Girl! You and Ronnie?”

“Yeah,” Caitlin said shyly, looking down. There was a smile playing on her lips.

“That’s so great; I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Caitlin replied, touched. She would have loved to keep the girl talk going but there was something nipping at her that she couldn’t ignore so she asked, “How’s Barry?”

Iris deflated. “You tell me. You talk to him more than I do lately.”

“He hasn’t said much about … you know.”

Iris nodded.

“How are you?”

“Confused,” she admitted. “It’s the first time I’ve actually had to evaluate our relationship, you know? I have no idea what we are anymore.”

Caitlin placed her hand over hers. “Best friends.”

Iris was taken aback by the meaningful weight behind Caitlin’s eyes but when she thought again about what she’d said, it was like all her anxiety had been pointless. Of course Barry would always be her best friend. It didn’t matter what type of love they shared or what label society decided to stick on them or what kind of problems arose; you didn’t go through so much with a person and _not_ have something profound solidified between you.

“Yeah,” she said and smiled, “thanks, Caitlin.”

Caitlin smiled back and Iris left when Ronnie returned, but not without giving her shoulder an encouraging squeeze in passing.

The rest of her shift passed by quietly, even pleasantly, now that she had some idea of how to mend what she had broken. 

*

Barry came home from the library that afternoon to find the hallway outside his and Iris’ bedrooms cluttered with things he had forgotten existed. Against everything he was feeling and everything that had transpired, he poked his head into her open door and found her crouched in the middle of the room, a bunch of other things scattered around her. She looked up when she noticed his presence and when her whole face lit up he felt his heart grow wings and start to flutter. 

“Hey,” she said, chastened by the apprehension on his face, “I was just doing some spring cleaning.”

“I see no actual cleaning being done here,” he shot back, surprising her, and himself, with how easily he fell back into their usual rapport as best friends.

“It’s perfectly normal to get caught up in old memorabilia,” she defended. “Plus, look what I found.” She held up a red and yellow school bag. “Your nerd survival kit.”

Barry entered the room then, gingerly taking the bag from her and looking inside. “Wow,” he said when he saw a few unopened comics. 

Iris watched him for a moment, a smile on her lips, before she spoke up. “I’m sorry things are weird between us.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, shaking his head. He came to kneel beside her and left his bag a way’s away on the floor, momentarily forgotten. “I know you’re happy with Eddie and that’s everything I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“Well, then I’m sorry for avoiding you lately. I kind of thought it was what you wanted.”

Barry shook his head again. “I made a promise to always be here for you,” he murmured as he reached out to touch the brooch hiding under her collar. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He found her grinning at him so he mustered a smile in return and, together, they set about getting some actual spring cleaning done.


End file.
